Structural and serological studies of the O-antigen of Proteus mirabilis O-9

ABSTRACT Proteus mirabilis is a Gram-negative bacterium that undergoes a physical and biochemical change from a vegetative swimmer cell (a typical Gram-negative rod) to an elongated swarmer cell when grown on a solid surface. In this study, we report that a transposon insertion in the waaL gene, encoding O-antigen ligase, blocked swarming motility on solid surfaces but had little effect on swimming motility in soft agar. The waaL mutant was unable to differentiate into a swarmer cell. Differentiation was also prevented by a mutation in wzz, encoding a chain length determinant for O antigen, but not by a mutation in wzyE, encoding an enzyme that polymerizes enterobacterial common antigen, a surface polysaccharide different from the lipid A::core. In wild-type P. mirabilis, increased expression of the flhDC operon occurs after growth on solid surfaces and is required for the high-level expression of flagellin that is characteristic of swarmer cells. However, in both the waaL and the wzz mutants, the flhDC operon was not activated during growth on agar. A loss-of-function mutation in the rcsB response regulator or overexpression of flhDC restored swarming to the waaL mutant, despite the absence of O antigen. Therefore, although O antigen may serve a role in swarming by promoting wettability, the loss of O antigen blocks a regulatory pathway that links surface contact with the upregulation of flhDC expression.

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Role of the Umo Proteins and the Rcs Phosphorelay in the Swarming Motility of the Wild Type and an O-Antigen (waaL) Mutant of Proteus mirabilis

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.06047-11 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 194 (3) ◽

pp. 669-676 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

R. M. Morgenstein ◽

P. N. Rather

Keyword(s):

Proteus Mirabilis ◽

Wild Type ◽

Swarming Motility ◽

O Antigen

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Draft Genome of Proteus mirabilis Serogroup O18 Elaborating Phosphocholine-Decorated O Antigen

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fcimb.2021.620010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Grzegorz Czerwonka ◽

Dawid Gmiter ◽

Katarzyna Durlik-Popińska

Keyword(s):

Proteus Mirabilis ◽

Draft Genome ◽

Gc Content ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Gene Encoding ◽

Protein Coding ◽

O Antigen ◽

Ctp:Phosphocholine Cytidylyltransferase ◽

Annotation Server ◽

Tract Infections

Proteus mirabilis is a pathogenic, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that causes ascending urinary tract infections. Swarming motility, urease production, biofilm formation, and the properties of its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are all factors that contribute to the virulence of this bacterium. Uniquely, members of the O18 serogroup elaborate LPS molecules capped with O antigen polymers built of pentasaccharide repeats; these repeats are modified with a phosphocholine (ChoP) moiety attached to the proximal sugar of each O unit. Decoration of the LPS with ChoP is an important surface modification of many pathogenic and commensal bacteria. The presence of ChoP on the bacterial envelope is correlated with pathogenicity, as decoration with ChoP plays a role in bacterial adhesion to mucosal surfaces, resistance to antimicrobial peptides and sensitivity to complement-mediated killing in several species. The genome of P. mirabilis O18 is 3.98 Mb in size, containing 3,762 protein-coding sequences and an overall GC content of 38.7%. Annotation performed using the RAST Annotation Server revealed genes associated with choline phosphorylation, uptake and transfer. Moreover, amino acid sequence alignment of the translated licC gene revealed it to be homologous to LicC from Streptococcus pneumoniae encoding CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase. Recognized homologs are located in the O antigen gene clusters of Proteus species, near the wzx gene encoding the O antigen flippase, which translocates lipid-linked O units across the inner membrane. This study reveals the genes potentially engaged in LPS decoration with ChoP in P. mirabilis O18.

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Structural and serological studies on the O-antigen show that Citrobacter youngae PCM1505 must be classified to a new Citrobacter O-serogroup

Carbohydrate Research ◽

10.1016/j.carres.2012.06.010 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 360 ◽

pp. 52-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ewa Katzenellenbogen ◽

Nina A. Kocharova ◽

Sabina Górska-Frączek ◽

Andrzej Gamian ◽

Alexander S. Shashkov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

O Antigen ◽

Serological Studies

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Structural and serological studies of the related O-specific polysaccharides of Proteus vulgaris O21 and Proteus mirabilis O48 having oligosaccharide-phosphate repeating units

European Journal of Biochemistry ◽

10.1046/j.1432-1033.2000.01793.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 267 (23) ◽

pp. 6888-6896 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Beata Bartodziejska ◽

Filip V. Toukach ◽

Evgeny V. Vinogradov ◽

Sofia N. Senchenkova ◽

Alexander S. Shashkov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Proteus Mirabilis ◽

Proteus Vulgaris ◽

Serological Studies

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The Structure and Serological Specificity of Proteus mirabilis O43 O Antigen

European Journal of Biochemistry ◽

10.1111/j.1432-1033.1995.tb20844.x ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 232 (2) ◽

pp. 558-562 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Maciej Cedzynski ◽

Yuriy A. Knirel ◽

Antoni Rozalski ◽

Alexander S. Shashkov ◽

Eugeny V. Vinogradov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Proteus Mirabilis ◽

O Antigen ◽

Serological Specificity

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The prevailing O serogroups among the serologically differentiated clinical Proteus spp. strains in central Poland

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-98228-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dominika Drzewiecka ◽

Agata Palusiak ◽

Małgorzata Siwińska ◽

Agnieszka Zabłotni

Keyword(s):

Structural Feature ◽

Western Blotting ◽

Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

O Antigen ◽

Central Poland ◽

Unique Structural Feature ◽

Serological Studies

AbstractIn the years 2006–2011, 617 Proteus spp. strains isolated mostly from urine and wounds or other clinical sources were collected in Łódź, Poland, to determine the offensive O serotypes frequently occurring among patients. P. mirabilis exhibited the most intensive swarming growth and was dominating species (86.9%), followed by P. genomospecies, P. vulgaris, and P. penneri. Ninety four per cent strains were recognized as S (smooth) forms. Serological studies (involving ELISA—enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting using native and adsorbed rabbit antisera) enabled classification of 80% S isolates into respective Proteus O serogroups among the 83 ones, described so far. The remaining strains seemed to be serologically unique. Despite the observed big serological variety of Proteus spp. isolates, we found the O78 serogroup recently described in Poland as dominating and identified other widespread serotypes: O3, O6, O10, O11, O27, O28, and O30 reported earlier as predominating also in other countries; O77 and O79 detected lately in Poland; O16, O18, O20, and O50. No unique structural feature of the prevalent O serotypes has been indicated. However, the prevalence of some O serogroups indicates that particular serotypes may be in some ways beneficial to the strains producing these kinds of O antigen.

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